Dying Embers
by FlyHighAndTakeTheSky
Summary: Kay Simons: Trainer from Johto who managed to beat the elite four. She's well respected, strong, but cold. Terribly, terribly cold to everyone she meets. To her, winning is all that matters. When she meets three trainers after helping them out, can they convince her otherwise? That Pokemon are more than just tools to win battles? T for language
1. Chapter 1

"Yeah, thanks Professor. I'll make sure to give mom a call soon. Okay, yeah, thanks." A teenager groaned in annoyance as she pressed the end button on her silver Pokegear. Shaking her head, she sighed and turned, continuing the path through a forest in Watari Island. Grabbing a pokeball off of her belt, she tossed it into the air, watching lazily as a beam of white light released her Salamence before returning to her hand.

Clipping it back to her belt, she stopped, turning to the large dragon Pokémon "Ryu," the absentminded blue and red dragon snapped its attention back to its trainer, suddenly serious "We're flying. Go out of range so this damn Pokegear doesn't work anymore."

Ryu let out a powerful roar, flapping his large red wings and taking to the sky once its trainer was safely on its back. Once the two were in the air, the teen smirked, holding her Pokegear out at arm's length over the earth.

"To drop or not to drop, that is the question…" she murmured, grinning as the wind whipped her silver and black hair behind her at ferocious speeds.

Glancing down to the ground below, she laughed as three kids walked along the same path she was on just minutes before.

Pulling the Pokegear back in, she muttered a quick "suckers." before tapping her Salamence twice on the neck; her sign to speed up. She'd never been clocked on her high speed dragon Pokémon, however after raising it from a little Bagon; she figured she couldn't have been going less than a hundred miles per hour.

Speed was the one thing she made sure her Pokémon were top notch at. If you had great speed, you had already won the battle. That was back in Johto, though, and she'd long since moved on to other regions with new Pokémon and trainers. She'd trained every single day, camping in one area for months at a time before moving on. She honestly didn't know why she trained all the time, but it kept her mind off of other things. She'd left when she was 15, and she still hoped that Johto had long since forgotten her and moved on.

Kay Simons was 18 years old now, and she hadn't returned home since she left, giving the region a lot of time to forget her name and face.

Legally an adult, she didn't have to ever go back, but if Professor Elm kept nagging her and calling her every twenty minutes with messages from her mother, she'd have to go back eventually. Her brother, Tyson, had to be about ten now, getting ready to start his own journey with one of the three Johto region starters; Chikorita, Totodile, or Cyndaquil. The young boy had always looked up to Kay, so it gave her a pretty good idea to which starter Pokémon he'd choose. After all, she had named her Cyndaquil after him.

She smirked to herself, the wind still rushing past her and the powerful dragon Pokémon at tremendous speeds. Tyson hadn't seen her Cyndaquil since she left, the little squirt refused to evolve for quite some time. Now, Kay sported a powerful Typhlosion named Ty, whose temperament had changed from a shy little Cyndaquil, to a ferocious Typhlosion who loved to cloud watch with her when it wasn't locked in a battle.

Her Salamence's roaring snapped her out of her thoughts as the two almost crashed into an Unfezant at top speed.

"Shit!" Kay yelled, grabbing Ryu's neck as he jerked upward, just barely avoiding the feathered bird Pokémon. "Where the hell is that thing going?"

Kay gave the dragon a small circular motion with her finger on the back of his blue neck, and Ryu did a one-eighty, not losing speed as he charged after the smaller bird. His tail lashed through the air angrily, and Kay could tell that he wasn't letting up the chase anytime soon. Little flames danced from around his mouth, flying behind them into the wind. She chuckled, patting him calmly in a vain attempt to calm his rage. A large burst of flame shot from Ryu's mouth, singing the Unfezant's back feathers.

Kay couldn't help but laugh at her Pokémon's actions. It was rare that Ryu ever got this fired up about something, and she found it quite amusing. Looking down, she saw what she thought were the same three kids from earlier running as fast as they possibly could after the Unfezant, which Kay realized was following a large balloon in the shape of a meowth.

She vaguely heard a girl below her scream someone's name, and before she knew it, the Unfezant was sending powerful gusts of wind at Ryu and Kay.

"Razor Wind, Ryu. You can stand it." She muttered to the dragon, which sent his trainer a nervous glance. Gripping his neck, Kay braced herself as the sharp gusts of wind hit the two of them, cutting skin, clothing, and Pokémon. They were shallow cuts, and judging from the way they barely stung, Kay guessed that this particular Unfezant hadn't developed the attack to its full potential.

"Dragon dance, then use steel wing. Knock it down." Kay growled, watching the Unfezant with intensity as a blue glow formed around Ryu, boosting speed and attack power.

Double tapping the dragon once more, Ryu sped up even faster, with wings turning a bright silver color that gleamed in the sunlight.

Quickly, Ryu smashed into the bird Pokémon with unbelievable force while it'swings flared from the attack. Kay watched the bird Pokémon plummet to the ground in agony, and a distraught trainer run to catch it. Pressing two fingers lightly to Ryu's neck, the dragon Pokémon slowed to a gradual stop, hovering within hearing distance of the teens below.

A female and two males was what Kay had concluded, picking up heights and parts of voices.

"Ash, they're getting away!" the female screeched, her voice more annoying than Kay's younger sister. Her purple hair was tied into twintails, held tightly in place by yellow bands. She sported a strange tan and pink dress, and a small Axew peeked out of her puffy hair.

Suddenly, the shorter boy next to her looked straight up at Ryu, eyes burning with anger. Kay couldn't help but laugh a little at him. If that puny Unfezant was the best he had, then taking him out wouldn't be much of a challenge at all for her, just another disappointment.

"Stop laughing!" he yelled up at her, finally noticing the trainer on top with stunned eyes "Why would you attack Unfezant!?"

Kay drew a line downwards with her finger on Ryu's neck, and the blue and red dragon descended downwards towards the three trainers. They stopped a few feet above the trainer's heads out of safe habits she'd picked up throughout the years.

Kay looked down at the boy with cold blue eyes. If a simple steel wing could take his Pokémon out, then she didn't deserve to be questioned. Instead of speaking, she just stared at him, waiting for him to say something again.

"Why did you attack Unfezant!?" he yelled again, hurt and anger flashing in his brown eyes as he looked from his hurt Pokémon to Kay.

"It wasn't me, it was Ryu. Your Unfezant instigated it." She said simply, moving her silver bangs from her eyes and sighing "It should really watch where it's flying, some Pokémon don't like to almost be hit by tiny little pests like your bird there." She motioned to the unconscious Pokémon in the boy's arms, sighing in discontent.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the girl put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head "No, Ash, let's just go get Pikachu back, alright? Deal with her later."

The boy named Ash nodded to her, returning the Unfezant back to its Pokeball and continuing to run after the balloon.

Kay watched, muttering curse words under her breath and shaking her head.

"Hey! I'll rescue your little mouse, if you battle with me. Pikachu's a Kanto Pokémon, and I'd like to see how strong it is." She called out suddenly, making the three turn back to face her.

Ash nodded, determination flashing in his eyes "Deal."

"Good. Stay here. The balloon didn't get far, especially with these winds."

"But…I don't feel any wind…" He muttered, raising an eyebrow underneath his shaggy black hair, which was pinned down under a hat.

"You're not up there, that's why. Now stop talking and wait here." Kay ordered as Ryu took off into the blue sky above them.

With that, Kay drew one last line upwards on Ryu's neck, and before the boy could respond, both trainer and Pokémon were speeding after the balloon at full speed. Ryu sped off, large red wings flapping against the air currents as they sped towards the balloon.

"Alright, Flamethrower!" a large burst of flame almost immediately shot from the dragon pokemon's teal and white mouth, singing the balloon and sending it crashing to the forest floor below. Kay held back a smirk as she noted where it had landed before going back to the kids still on the trail.  
She pulled up next to them, only inches off the ground "Get on." were the only two words she spoke, but the teens didn't question her as they climbed onto Ryu's back.

"I'd hang on, if I were you." She smirked as the boy with black hair gripped the back of her shirt tightly in his gloved fists after giving her a quick nod. She chuckled under her breath as Ryu gave a few flaps of his large red wings, lifting the group into the sky towards the crash site. The last thing Kay expected to see when they landed though, was a large robot in the middle of a clearing.

* * *

Ugh omg I haven't written Pokemon in forever, so I hope I did okay. My Deviantart name is the same as my name, so check my page out if you wanna see a ref. of Kay.

Constructive criticism and reviews are welcome (:


	2. Chapter 2

The wind halted as Ryu came to a sharp stop on the ground, firmly planting his four feet into the grass and dirt. Kay gazed up at the robot with wide eyes, mouth curving up into a tight smirk. The three behind her jumped off almost as quickly as they had gotten on, all glaring at the robot with heated gazes. It was at least thirty feet, roughly the size of her home, and painted a bright, metallic red and blue. The center of it looked to be a hard plastic, a small Pikachu in the center of it. Three figures sat in the head, a male, female, and a meowth. Kay blinked in amusement as she watched the three quote some ridiculous theme from inside the metal bot, laughing as Pikachu's thunderbolt was absorbed into the machine.

"Let Pikachu go!" The short boy yelled, tears stinging at his eyes as he gripped a Pokeball in his right hand "Pignite, I choose you!"

The purple haired girl eyed Ryu wearily before switching Pokeballs and quickly releasing an Excadrill, while the connoisseur released a Pansage into the battle, where Pignite and Excadrill were already attacking the large robot. Kay shook her head, leaning forward onto Ryu as she watched, debating on whether to jump in or not.

Not ten minutes had passed before Pignite was stuck in the hand of the robot, struggling weakly as it's grip tightened around the medium sized fire pig. It's trainer looked frantically back at Kay, who nodded silently and ran her finger up Ryu's neck. The dragon pokemon gave three flaps of it's wings and took to the air once again, flying straight at the robot head on.  
"Are you crazy!?" She barely heard the question, just grinned and ordered a steel wing.

Time just about stopped when the other hand smashed into Ryu, sending both trainer and Pokemon tumbling through the air and smashing into the ground with unimaginable force. Kay watched as time slowed around her, arms wrapping around Ryu's neck tightly as the pokemon smashed into the ground. Feet and claws hit earth, and the Pokemon fell to it's stubby knees, breathing heavily. Kay grimaced, holding her arm close to her chest and sitting up in the dirt. A bundle of gasps seemed to echo around the clearing as Kay struggled to her feet, limping over to Ryu slowly. The dragon let out a tremendous roar of pain and fury, calming down when Kay hopped onto his back once again, feebly drawing a line up his neck again.

Curving her lips into a forced smirk, she turned towards the teens now below her again and flashed them a smug grin.

"Flamethrower on the arm, help Pignite." she whispered, hands balled into tight fists at her sides.

Kay watched blindly as the scorching fire seared through the metal arm, dropping to the ground in pieces. Screams echoed in her ears, and she could feel a small stream of blood trickling from her forehead as Ryu let out more bursts of fire, each getting weaker as he ran out of energy. The black haired teen ordered a fire pledge towards the plastic in the center, which melted upon contact. The Pikachu hopped out onto the ground, shaking out it's fur before dashing over to the boy and letting out a high pitched squeal of joy. Her vision clouded, and she watched the scene in a dull blur as "Team Rocket" was shot off into the sky, charred robot following after.

Then, Kay blacked out.

* * *

The eighteen year old woke to a steady beeping and ringing ears as her eyes flicked open and darted around the room. Her head throbbed, but she sat up and swung her legs over the bed nonetheless, slowly lowering herself onto the cold tile floor and taking a tentative step towards the door. After finding her balance, and discovering her arm was wrapped tightly in a bandage, Kay wandered out into the lobby of a Pokemon center, the lights blurring at the edges of her vision slightly. Thankfully, she noticed Nurse Joy walking briskly up to her, a frown on her face and eyes narrowed into a stern, motherly-like gaze.

"Kay Simons, what are you doing out of bed!? Three nice kids brought you and Ryu back after you collapsed, a_gain!_ How long were you training this time?" her voice went from high and angry to low and thoughtful as Kay grinned at the pink haired nurse.

"Two days, but I guess I got tired faster than I normally do," Kay shrugged, smirking at her "Thanks for the help again, Joy. Got any food left? I'm starving."

Nurse Joy sighed, but nodded and walked off to prepare something for the teen. Kay smiled softly. She'd come to Capacia Island three months ago, and had grown surprisingly close to Nurse Joy after days of nonstop training, then collapsing in front of the Center doors. She'd awoken similar to the way she had earlier, though with far more anger and aggression. She chuckled, remembering that she'd broken the heart monitor after kicking it out of her way in a rage as she tried to find her Pokemon to leave. Nurse Joy had talked her into saying to rest a few days, however, and they'd slowly bonded ever since.

"Hey! Heeeey!" Kay's head jerked up towards the noise,eyes widening at the three teens running towards her.

She frowned as they neared her, memories flooding back as she remembered where they were from.

"Kay, right?" the black haired boy started off, a large grin plastered on his face as he held out his hand "We're so glad you're okay! Thanks for helping us save Pikachu and Pignite! I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town! And these are my friends Iris and Cilan!"

Kay stared blankly at his hand, gaze travelling to the small electric mouse who let out a "Pika!" in thanks. Ash grew visibly awkward as time passed and Kay remained silent, finally figuring a shrug.

"Your Pokemon are weak." she stated finally, earning three gasps.

Her eyes locked on his, ice blue and brown, as they stared at each other boldly, a silent challenge forming as Kay's behavior screamed at him. Electricity seemed to spark between them, and before Kay knew it, Ash was challenging her to a battle. Closing her eyes, Kay sighed and nodded, turning to retrieve her Pokeballs from her temporary room. Less than five minutes later, Kay and Ash were facing each other on opposite sides of a battlefield on the side of the Pokemon Center. It was a fairly nice field that sported new five-row bleachers and a seat for the referee off on the side. The lines had been freshly painted in with the usual white, and the dirt had been brushed over with a rake, successfully clearing it of lumps, rocks, and other debris. Cilan stepped up to the ref stand, sighing at Ash with amusement as he gave Pikachu a pep talk. Iris sat on the sidelines, Axew on her lap looking comfortable.

"Alright Ash, what do you wanna do? Two on two?" Kay shouted across to the teen, flashing him a coy grin as he responded with a resounding 'sure!'.

Kay watched as Ash ordered Pikachu onto the field, and laughed as an Oshawott appeared soon after without being sent out. Ash groaned, but flashed the small pokemon a thumbs up before staring intently at Kay.

"Don't back down, Bolt, Red!" Kay pressed the buttons on her Pokeballs, expanding it before throwing them high into the air, where they both exploded in a white light and flew back to her awaiting hands.

"Woah, a Raichu..." Iris murmured from the stands, eyes wide "And a Snivy..."

"Let's do this, Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Oshawott, hydro pump!" Ash yelled, pointing a finger out towards Kay's pokemon.

"Bolt, thunderbolt right back! Red, growth and then use leech seed!" Kay gulped internally, paying her new strategy she'd been practicing nonstop would work for once. Red threw his trainer a nervous glance before glowing with a green light, raising it's special attack.

The silver haired teen watched nervously as the two thunderbolt's collided, sending a cloud of smoke and dust over the battlefield, causing coughing to erupt from the oncoming spectators. Finally, when the smoke cleared off the field, both electric Pokemon still stood strong, Bolt holding Red up steadily.

"Damnit," Kay cursed at the failed leech seed through a water-type move, shaking her head quickly "Red, leech seed again! Bolt, dig!"

Ash's eyes widened considerably as Bolt dug through the dirt with ease, burrowing deep into the earth as Red aimed a leech seed at Oshawott, which the small water type barely dodged. Pikachu looked around wildly, eyes worried as they scanned the battlefield.

"Oshawott, use hydro pump down Raichu's dig hole!" Ash yelled, grinning at his idea then faltering when Kay just smirked.

"Ride the hydro pump out, Bolt!"

The move happened all at once; Bolt blasting out of the ground on Oshawott's hydro pump, fists surging with electricity as it lept over top of Pikachu, eyes narrowed. Kay watched Ash cry out as Pikachu fell to the ground after being pummeled by a thunder-punch from a smug Raichu who had one foot placed neatly on top of the smaller Pokemon. Oshawott stumbled for a second, counter attacking with razor shell and hitting Bolt dead on, who staggered off of Pikachu in a daze. Red looked on before heeding his trainer's commands of leaf storm, razor sharp leaves catching both opposing Pokemon in it's vortex.

"Hah, this is done," Kay muttered, a dangerous smirk crossing her features as she pointed at the two Pokemon now on the ground "Bolt, discharge. End this now."

Bolt grinned quickly as various copies of it's form appeared in a large circle around Pikachu and Oshawott, each letting out a victorious cry as a surge of electricity shocked both pokemon into unconsciousness.

Returning both of her Pokemon after Cilan declared the battle over, Kay turned to head back into the Pokemon Center to get lunch when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she frowned.

"That was an awesome match! Your Pokemon are really strong," Ash smiled, cheeks flushed pink from the exhilaration of the battle "Whaddya say Cilan cooks us lunch, for all of us?"

Kay stared at him "Your Pokemon are weak. They would've been able to win if you actually evolved them, but it's obvious you don't train them hard enough." she spat, arms crossed across her chest.

"Pokemon aren't tools!" Iris yelled, bounding over with Cilan hot on her trail "They're supposed to be friends, too." She added more quietly, glaring up at Kay.

"You don't know anything." Kay spat, narrowing her eyes dangerously "Evolution means stronger Pokemon, which means winning. But hell, you're just kids, what do you know anyways." her back turned to the three "I'll battle any of you any time you want, and I'll always win."

"That cocky little bi-" Ash clamped his hand over Iris's mouth as she screamed profanities, which Kay waved off like a fly as she strode into the Pokemon Center's side doors.

"Calm down, Iris, it's fine." Ash muttered, eyes downcast "I just...how can anyone think of Pokemon like that? She's just like Paul..." he frowned, wiping his eyes before turning to his friends.

Cilan smiled slowly, "Her battling style did have a spicy flavor to it, almost sour..." he murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he followed the two back into the center.

* * *

I can't write battle scenes for shit, I'm so sorry gfcbhns

But yeah, I got a few followers, so I figured I'd write another quick chapter before I went to work~ Hope you guys like it, reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated c:

PS, I always get more inspired to write more if I get reviews, since I leave them in my email until they slap me in the face like "Update, you bitch, people like your fanfic."

art/Kay-Ref-Ultimate-398384162

That's a link to Kay's trainer profile (one of them), and also my deviantart. Watch me there for more of my drawings/short stories


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